ZNBR PR out! Zinco do Brasil Names former Ivanhoe

ZNBR PR out!

Zinco do Brasil Names former Ivanhoe Mines President Daniel Kunz as Executive Chairman and CEO

NEW YORK, June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinco do Brasil Inc. (OTCQB: ZNBR) (the "Company"), a mine development company focused on bringing into production an advanced stage zinc project in Brazil, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Daniel Kunz as Executive Chairman of the board of directors with immediate effect and as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer beginning September 1, 2013.

Mr. Kunz has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He has held various executive level positions and was essential in building, operating and managing a number of successful mining companies, including Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (now known as Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.). During his seven-year tenure, the market capitalization value of Ivanhoe Mines increased from $400 million to $14.4 billion.

“I am pleased to be part of Zinco do Brasil and its outstanding board of directors and shareholders. The Company’s assets are located north of Belo Horizonte, Brazil and have access to nearby infrastructure including rail, paved roads, cities, water and electrical power. The Salobro zinc project is in an advanced stage with past drilling completed by Vale S.A., a Brazilian mining corporation and the second-largest mining company in the world. A favorable scoping study was completed for the project by a recognized local mine development and engineering firm,” said Daniel Kunz. Mr. Kunz continued, “The Company is very fortunate to have an experienced operations team in place in Brazil who have successfully built a number of local mines and who are also strategic shareholders.”

Zinco do Brasil CEO Ryan E. Hart commented, "This is a great day for the Company and its shareholders. The Company and its board members have been working diligently to recruit a top mining executive who will execute the Company’s business plan and lead the Company from exploration to production.” Mr. Hart continued, “From the day Mr. Kunz joined us for a mine-site visit to Salobro in March, it was the Company’s main objective to secure his services. Dan is not only a very well known and highly respected mining executive, but also a serial-entrepreneur who has proven over and over again that he has the skills, determination and expertise to build successful companies. We could not be more excited.”

About Daniel Kunz

Mr. Kunz has significant experience in international mining, engineering and construction, including, marketing, business development, management, accounting, finance and operations. Mr. Kunz was senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. from November 1997 until October 2000, and then was President, Chief Executive Officer and Director from November 2000 until March 2003. Mr. Kunz was one of the driving forces in taking Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. into Mongolia where, in 2001, the Company discovered Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits. Mr. Kunz also headed the finance, development, construction and operation of a low cost heap leach, copper cathode mine in Myanmar, developed a small high-grade gold mine in South Korea, led the acquisition of the Savage River iron ore pellet mine and facility in Australia and directed the start up of test production at a metallurgically complex 13 million ounce gold mine in Kazakhstan. From April 2003 to March 2004, Mr. Kunz served as interim President and Director of Jinshan Gold Mines, a subsidiary of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:JIN). In 2003 Jinshan was acquired by China National Gold Corp. Jinshan was engaged in heap leach gold production and through extensive local partnerships and ventures explored for copper, gold and platinum group metals in China.

As Co-Founder, President and CEO of MK Gold Company, he directed its initial public offering on the NASDAQ exchange in 1993. MK Gold owned, operated and developed several gold mines, including the Boroo Gold project in Mongolia and the Jerooy Gold project in Kyrgyzstan, and provided contract services to the mining industry. MK Gold was a profitable gold mining company that produced some 250,000 ounces of gold annually from the mines it owned, operated and contract mined.

Mr. Kunz held executive positions with NYSE listed Morrison Knudsen Corporation (including as Corporate Vice President and Controller) for 17 years. During his tenure at Morrison Knudsen, Mr. Kunz was involved in international and local mine operations, engineering and finance for numerous contract mining and owned and operated coal, gold, silver, limestone, aggregate, and copper mines. Mr. Kunz was born and raised in Butte, Montana and work four years for the Anaconda Copper Company Geology Dept.

Mr. Kunz holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. In 1995, the University of Montana Tech (formerly the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology) named Mr. Kunz a Distinguished Alumni of the Year.

About Zinco do Brasil, Inc.

Zinco do Brasil is a publicly listed company (Ticker: ZNBR). The Company acquired 99.9% of Zinco do Brasil Mineracao Ltda., which owns 30 mineral rights for a total of 44,665 hectares in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The mineral rights are split between two projects: Salobro, which consists of 2 mining rights for an area of 1,685 hectares, and Gorutuba with 28 mining rights for an area of 42,980 hectares. The Company expects the Salobro historic mineral resources to increase by 30 – 50% during the exploration drilling program scheduled for Q3 and Q4 of 2013. The results of the drillling will be incorporated with the existing drill data to prove up the historic zinc and lead mineral resources to NI 43-101 standard. The Salobro project is planned to go into production in Q3 of 2016 and to produce in excess of 30,000 metric tons of zinc and 5,000 metric tons of lead per year during the currently estimated mine-life of 10 years (13 - 15 years after anticipated mineral resource increase of 30 - 50%).

The Gorutuba project consists of 28 mining rights containing an area of 42,980 hectares in total. Geophysical interpretation of the area was developed based on ground geophysical data acquired by Vale and by magnetic data gained from airborne geophysical survey conducted by the State of Minas Gerais. The studies revealed that the geophysical characteristics of the Salobro deposit are highly correlated with seven targets within the Gorutuba project area, showing similar anomalies like Salobro. The aerial extent of the seven selected targets is 17 km (compared to 2.35km of Salobro) and a drill program is scheduled to start during 2013 to confirm each deposit. Initial geochemical surveys indicated other anomalies of copper and gold within the Gorutuba projects/targets.